1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for grasping and subsequently displacing an object to a delivery position.
This principle has been used in linear motors to quicken the responsiveness, as described in JP 11114865, published Apr. 27, 1999.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Such a device is of random nature, but is usually applied in amusement devices, wherein a large number of objects are displayed in a display cabinet, and wherein by means of handles the user can carry a gripper in a coordinate system to the desired object, whereafter the gripper is further driven automatically and, in the case of success, grasps this object. The object is then carried to a delivery position. Such grasping devices applied in an amusement machine are for example known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,718,667 and 4,685,673.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,667 describes a control system for positioning the claw anyhere in the housing, whereafter the claw is lowered, closed, raised and returned to the home position. In the claw device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,667 a solenoid operated plunger is controlled by a solenoid within the housing. U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,673 describes a positioning system with two sets of rails for moving the grasping device within the housing.
The drawback of existing gripping devices is that the gripping force is often not constant, whereby the gripping process is not predictable.